Fact check: Elon Musk said, "Don't make me buy Microsoft just to fire you. Some people seem to forget how much money I have. Would…

Verdict: misleading — Trust Score 39/100

The Instagram post presents fabricated screenshots of quotes attributed to Elon Musk and Bill Gates, depicting a "billionaire feud. " While a public dispute between Musk and Gates is well-documented by 10 sources, the specific quotes shown in the screenshots could not be found in any reliable public records or news reports from 2026 or recent years. The post misrepresents the nature of their ongoing disagreements by using unverified statements.

misleading verification card — Trust Score 39/100
Platform
instagram
Source author
ev.news.daily — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DfLEjeGyeuF
Verified on
November 1, 2026
Verification ID
kCa09lR5VsUVQVP8EuQUfA

Original content reviewed

Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @ev.news.daily --- Caption/Description --- Elon Musk FIRES BACK at Bill Gates in a billionaire feud, threatening to BUY MICROSOFT just to embarrass him. “Don’t make me buy Microsoft just to fire him,” Musk jokes, flexing his enormous fortune after Gates questioned his accomplishments. Is Elon taking billionaire beef to a whole new level? 👀💀 --- On-Screen Text (OCR) --- Elon Musk @elonmusk Don't make me buy Microsoft just to fire you. Some people seem to forget how much money I have. Would be a funny Tuesday. Bill Gates @BillGates Elon Musk didn't create Tesla. He bought it. He didn't create X. He bought Twitter . He didn't invent the rockets, propulsion systems or telemetry of SpaceX. He used NASA tech and poached their engineers. I MADE MICROSOFT! SOURCE PLATFORM: X/Twitter Published: 2026-10-31T20:59:25.000Z ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @ev.news.daily --- Claims to Verify (grade EVERY one by its id; C1 is the post's core claim) --- C1. (On-screen) Elon Musk said, "Don't make me buy Microsoft just to fire you. Some people seem to forget how much money I have. Would be a funny Tuesday." C2. (On-screen) Bill Gates said, "Elon Musk didn't create Tesla. He bought it." C3. (On-screen) Bill Gates said, "He didn't create X. He bought Twitter." C4. (On-screen) Bill Gates said, "He didn't invent the rockets, propulsion systems or telemetry of SpaceX. He used NASA tech and poached their engineers." C5. (On-screen) Bill Gates said, "I MADE MICROSOFT!" --- On-Screen Text --- Elon Musk @elonmusk Don't make me buy Microsoft just to fire you. Some people seem to forget how much money I have. Would be a funny Tuesday. Bill Gates @BillGates Elon Musk didn't create Tesla. He bought it. He didn't create X. He bought Twitter . He didn't invent the rockets, propulsion systems or telemetry of SpaceX. He used NASA tech and poached their engineers. I MADE MICROSOFT! SOURCE PLATFORM: X/Twitter --- Caption/Description

Claims analyzed (5)

  1. false: Elon Musk said, "Don't make me buy Microsoft just to fire you. Some people seem to forget how much money I have. Would be a funny Tuesday."
    VerifyMate's analysis found no evidence of Elon Musk making this statement on X (formerly Twitter) or any other platform in 2026 or prior years. Extensive searches for the exact quote yielded no credible results.
  2. false: Bill Gates said, "Elon Musk didn't create Tesla. He bought it."
    VerifyMate's analysis found no evidence of Bill Gates making this specific statement in 2026 or recent years. While Gates and Musk have a public feud, this exact quote could not be corroborated. Elon Musk was not a founder of Tesla but was an early investor and became chairman and CEO.
  3. false: Bill Gates said, "He didn't create X. He bought Twitter."
    VerifyMate's analysis found no evidence of Bill Gates making this specific statement in 2026 or recent years. While Elon Musk did buy Twitter and rebrand it to X, he also founded X.com in 1999, which later merged with PayPal.
  4. false: Bill Gates said, "He didn't invent the rockets, propulsion systems or telemetry of SpaceX. He used NASA tech and poached their engineers."
    VerifyMate's analysis found no evidence of Bill Gates making this specific statement in 2026 or recent years. While rocket science builds on existing principles, SpaceX developed its own Falcon rockets, Merlin engines, and reusable booster systems. Musk is the Chief Engineer of SpaceX.
  5. verified: Bill Gates said, "I MADE MICROSOFT!"
    Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen. This statement is consistent with his well-documented role in the creation and growth of the company.

Sources consulted (11)

Related verifications

AI-generated analysis. Not a substitute for professional fact-checking.